Testing explosives: Considerations for an intrinsically safe laboratory

Certain materials are intrinsically hazardous – they are hazardous in and of themselves regardless of how they are handled. Examples include explosive powders such as black powder, or explosive gases such as propane. Industries working with these materials are highly regulated so accidents are rare.Laboratories working with these materials may not be subject to the same level of regulation as industry is because of the small quantities used for laboratory scale procedures and the controlled conditions in use such as ventilation fume hoods.However, when a laboratory routinely examines materials with explosive hazards, an elevated risk of accidental detonation will exist. An intrinsically safe laboratory is the best environment to manipulate such materials. Though it may be impossible for a laboratory to be safe “in and of itself”, careful planning and preparation will produce a workplace that is compatible with these hazardous materials. Such planning includes giving consideration to building design, laboratory procedures, and personnel behavior as well as having contingencies in place should a catastrophic failure of these systems result in an explosion.